Buddhist Monks Caught Gambling, Drinking At Party

Six senior Buddhist monks from South Korea's largest Buddhist sect have quit after a secret video footage showed several monks playing poker, drinking and smoking.

Six senior Buddhist monks from South Korea's largest Buddhist sect have quit after a secret video footage showed monks playing poker, drinking and smoking.

South Korean TV networks aired shots of monks playing poker, some smoking and drinking, after gathering at a luxury lakeside hotel in late April for a fellow monk's memorial service.

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The head of the Jogye order, which has some ten million followers, made a public apology on Friday, vowing 'self-repentance," The Telegraph reports.

The scandal erupted just days before South Korea observed a national holiday to celebrate the birth of Buddha.

Gambling outside of licensed casinos and horse racing tracks is illegal in South Korea and frowned upon by religious leaders.

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According to the paper, the behavior of the supposedly abstemious monks has led to Korean media speculation of a power split within the order.

Meanwhile, the wayward monks have apparently upset many in Korea.

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"A group of monks who gamble, drink and smoke in a hotel room is tainted in the eyes of all people in the nation," civic group Buddhist Solidarity for Reform said in a statement.

The scandal was also slammed on Twitter, with some posts calling for reforms within the sect.

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Source-ANI